Quadcopter anyone own one?

[vicar]

Akaso with plenty of batteries has served me well.

[vicar]

Akaso with extra batteries has served me very well.

[virtuo]

Necro time, but it's relevant and hopefully can get some input from the original commentees.

Been looking at drones, spotted a Mavic Pro Platinum in Costco at the weekend. Never really seen one in the flesh and it was lovely looking. I've also seen the nice aerial images and videos they take and have been considering buying one ever since.

I've seen the Mavic Pro 2 just released, it's pricey but seems to match or beat the DJI phantoms at the same price point.

Is it still the consensus that a self build (for someone who really only wants it for the photography/video element) is the best bet, or has technology come along enough that the branded off-the-shelf devices are pretty good? Recent reviews seem to say that the newer DJIs do their best not to be smashed in to the scenery.

My search hasn't gone much beyond the DJI's, soon get in to risky looking chinese no-namers on Amazon, so any suggestions for decent alternatives would be welcome.

[jimborae]

Necro time, but it's relevant and hopefully can get some input from the original commentees.

Been looking at drones, spotted a Mavic Pro Platinum in Costco at the weekend. Never really seen one in the flesh and it was lovely looking. I've also seen the nice aerial images and videos they take and have been considering buying one ever since.

I've seen the Mavic Pro 2 just released, it's pricey but seems to match or beat the DJI phantoms at the same price point.

Is it still the consensus that a self build (for someone who really only wants it for the photography/video element) is the best bet, or has technology come along enough that the branded off-the-shelf devices are pretty good? Recent reviews seem to say that the newer DJIs do their best not to be smashed in to the scenery.

My search hasn't gone much beyond the DJI's, soon get in to risky looking chinese no-namers on Amazon, so any suggestions for decent alternatives would be welcome.

Ok going out on limb as I'm not speaking from experience but secondhand opinions from a mate who flys Mavics much more than I do these days.

He says the new Mavic Pro 2's are the dogs bolloxs, so much so that he's sold or doesn't fly virtually anything else. This includes the following, DJI Inspire 1 v2, DJI S900 and all his self built DJI drones.

[Saracen]

Wasn't there recently a problem with Mavic's? I remember UK police forces grounding a large proportion of their drones over sudden total power loss (not good for a criwd surveillance drone) and I THOUGHT they were Mavics?

Or am I remembering wrong?

[Spud1]

Is it still the consensus that a self build (for someone who really only wants it for the photography/video element) is the best bet, or has technology come along enough that the branded off-the-shelf devices are pretty good? Recent reviews seem to say that the newer DJIs do their best not to be smashed in to the scenery.

As with many things, it really comes down to your budget and how much time you want to put into it.

A DIY quid will be cheaper at the same quality level, but how much depends on what you own already. If you already have a balance charger, decent TX on whatever brand of RX you prefer (e.g. Spectrum DSM2), FPV googles (or a phone and the right adaptor) a pot of threadlock etc....then you can self build a good quality folding quad with a camera, gimble, FPV gear, RX, a decent enough flight controller with GPS and all the equivalent features for a few hundred pounds. Hobbyking is your friend really You pay more for better quality but even at the top end you won't be approaching what DJI charge for their smaller quads like the Mavic pro.

You will however have to deal with spending several days (or weeks) building it, programming the FC/ESCs (or at least setting it up), getting rid of vibration, testing, testing and more testing etc. Personally that's most of the fun of quads for me (moreso than actually flying if I am truly honest) and I am happy to fix/repair when things do go wrong.

Buying pre-made/RTF gives you a warranty, 100% confidence that all the parts will work (and if they dont, you can send it back), and best of all no soldering wires or accidentally soldering the wrong wire to the wrong place causing an ESC to explode and nearly take your finger off but you do lose some of the fun of it.

Regardless though the Mavic 2 pro is a really nice Quad, and if I was to buy pre-made/RTF then that is the quad I would probably go for.

[Saracen]

I agree with all of Spud's post above, but would add a caution .... unless you already know what you're doing, you can add a LOT of research, and question-asking, to be sure you get the right components to build, and to know how to program things. I don't mean literally how to write code, what what parameters have what result in-flight.

So I'd say for anyone really wanting to get into quads as a hobby (or even more do, as a business) there's no better route thsn building, not least because you learn a shed-load along the way.

But .... for anybody just interested in the flying, or even more so, in the photography, buy a reliable pre-built drone.


A confession. While I have some drones, I'm more into helicopters, and I'll use one of those as an example. I have one, a tiny little thing that looks like a cheap toy.

It isn't. It is an extremely fast, and agile, but increbibly light little bird. But that 'programming'? One set of response curves and this little chopper is relatively easy to fly. It isn't a beginner model, and you need to know how to fly collective-pitch model heli's but if you do, with the "docile" settings, it's pretty calm.

But turn those settings up and it has the speed and responsiveness of the crossbreed of a hummingbird with a dragonfly, hopped up on speed, and in a fluttering frenzy. For inexperienced pilots flying indoors the only question, assuming you can get it airborne at all, is whether you smack it into a wall, or whether you smack it into the ceiling first. And if you can keep it airborne for 5 seconds before doing one or the other, you must be a natural with lightning reflexes.

Drones are certainly easier to fly, in the sense of being naturally more stable, whereas CP heli's have the same natural stability as one bowling ball balanced on top of a secind, heavily oiled, bowling ball.

And the difference between the docile and the hellion heli? One, just one, of a myriad of response 'curves' you can program.


So if you want to fly/film, but pre-built. If you want to learn, sometimes the hard wzy, build.

All IMHO, of course.

[virtuo]

Cheers guys/girls?

I'm coming in to this from nothing (no previous experience and no kit/tools to hand), it feels a bit silly dropping fairly silly cash on mid-top end pre-build, but I would like instant results (or at least after a bit of flying practice) and to know that the quality isn't really limited by the device. I haven't got the patience to be researching my own kit, putting it together and running the risk of having nothing workable to show for my investment.

I saw some good reviews of the Mavic Air as well, but I'll keep the Pro 2 in my basket for a few days while I have think about it - might be a decent deal at the end of the month with Black Friday looming.

[jimborae]

Wasn't there recently a problem with Mavic's? I remember UK police forces grounding a large proportion of their drones over sudden total power loss (not good for a criwd surveillance drone) and I THOUGHT they were Mavics?

Or am I remembering wrong?

Your remembering wrong........... That was the Pro grade Matrices.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-46032019

[Saracen]

Another possibility, if brsnd new, is to cut you teeth on someyhing cheap and cheerful. My first quad cost me about £30, including batteries, charger and the radio.

Sure, it's little more than a toy, but you'll get the feel. That same little quad (about 4" across") had a variant with a basic stills/video camera aboard for about £50.

Don't expect too much from these, but to get your feet wet, they're a cheap and fun option.

Warning - they're intended for indoor use. You can fly outdoors, but I'd recommend zero or absolutely minimal wind. Otherwise, if a breeze catches it, they don't have the grunt yo fight it. All yoy xan do is cut power and hope you csn find where it came down.

[Saracen]

Your remembering wrong........... That was the Pro grade Matrices.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-46032019

Thanks Jim. I stand .... reminded.

[wysiwug]

Not sure if this helps, Flying a Bebop drone with sky controller and my mobile set in VR headset for pov.. its a cheap way to get into the hobby and for me its been enough, still flying the same machine 12months later,

[LionHo]

Hi.... I was trying to emphasise that you can't just buy one and launch it from your suburban back garden, or any old bit of land. At the very least you need the landowners permission, and be aware of the minimum safety distances from people 'not under your control'.

[Zak33]

Hi.... I was trying to emphasise that you can't just buy one and launch it from your suburban back garden, or any old bit of land. At the very least you need the landowners permission, and be aware of the minimum safety distances from people 'not under your control'.

very odd post LionHo.. as you have never posted here, I am not sure of your "I was trying to emphasise..."

you got the right thread?

[Saracen999]

very odd post LionHo.. as you have never posted here, I am not sure of your "I was trying to emphasise..."

you got the right thread?

Ir's a strange way to start, but he's right about the restrictions. You can't just fly any old place. Or at least, not legally. It's more restrictive than people imagine, especially with a camera on-board.

[akingcool]

mavic pro for me, the portablity factor is the most important.

drones are the same as tripods, the best one is the one you take with you! something to keep in mind when considering which drone to get